Anyone watching what's going on in Myanmar Elections?

[Dani]

https://www.usnews.com/news/world/a...-in-myanmar-after-army-alleges-election-fraud
Reuters) - Myanmar's leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other senior figures from the ruling party were detained in an early morning raid on Monday, the spokesman for the governing National League for Democracy said.
The move came after Myanmar's powerful military triggered worry about a coup last week after threatening to "take action" over alleged fraud in a November election won by Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD).

The NLD led by Suu Kyi, a former political prisoner and figurehead of Myanmar's long struggle against dictatorship, won 83% of available seats in the Nov. 8 election seen as a referendum on her fledgling democratic government.

WHO RULES IN MYANMAR?
Nobel Peace Prize winner Suu Kyi, 75, came to power after a 2015 landslide election win that followed decades of house arrest in a struggle for democracy that turned her into an international icon.
Her international standing was damaged after hundreds of thousands of Rohingya fled army operations into refuge from Myanmar's western Rakhine state in 2017, but she remains hugely popular at home.
The military, as the architect of Myanmar's 2008 constitution and fledgling democracy, sees itself as the guardian of national unity and the constitution, and it has enshrined a permanent role for itself in the political system.
Known as the Tatmadaw, it gets an unelected quota of 25% of parliamentary seats and it controls the defence, interior and borders ministries, ensuring an important stake in politics.

WHY DID THE MILITARY CHALLENGE THE LATEST VOTE?
The military alleged discrepancies such as duplicated names on voting lists in scores of districts and was unhappy with the election commission's response to its complaints.
The military did not say if irregularities were substantial enough to have changed the election outcome.

Its grievance was similar to that of the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), the former ruling party created by the military before it officially ceded power in 2011.
The USDP, widely seen as a military proxy, was humiliated in the election, winning only 33 of 476 available seats.

HOW DID THE NLD, OTHER PARTIES REACT TO ELECTION?
Suu Kyi has not commented on her party's election victory, nor on the military's complaints, but the NLD said the military's allegations were groundless and any election flaws would not have changed the outcome.
Of the more than 90 parties that contested the vote, at least 17 have complained of mostly minor irregularities and all except the USDP are smaller parties. Election observers have said the voting was without major irregularities.
The election commission on Thursday said there were no errors on a scale that could mean fraud or the election being discredited.

WHAT DID THE MILITARY SAY?
The spokesman for the armed forces, Brigadier General Zaw Min Tun, held a news conference last week on its allegations but gave a succession of non-committal answers to questions about the military's intentions.
He said the military would "take action", and use all available options including the Supreme Court. Asked if the military would cooperate with the new government and legislature, he told reporters "wait and watch".
Asked if he would rule out a coup, Zaw Min Tun said "cannot say so".
On Saturday, Myanmar's military had said it would protect and abide by the constitution and act according to law.

WHAT DOES THE COUNTRY'S CONSTITUTION SAY?

The constitution says the commander-in-chief can take power only in extreme circumstances that could cause "disintegration of the union, disintegration of national solidarity and loss of sovereign power", but only during a state of emergency, which can only be declared by the civilian president.
The commander-in-chief, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, caused intrigue last week when he told military personnel a constitution was a "mother law for all laws" and if not abided by, it should be revoked. He cited previous instances when that had happened in Myanmar.
(Editing by Ed Davies, Robert Birsel and Richard Pullin)

 

[Dani]

Statement by White House Spokesperson Jen Psaki on Burma
January 31, 2021 • Statements and Releases
The United States is alarmed by reports that the Burmese military has taken steps to undermine the country’s democratic transition, including the arrest of State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi and other civilian officials in Burma. President Biden has been briefed by National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan. We continue to affirm our strong support for Burma’s democratic institutions and, in coordination with our regional partners, urge the military and all other parties to adhere to democratic norms and the rule of law, and to release those detained today. The United States opposes any attempt to alter the outcome of recent elections or impede Myanmar’s democratic transition, and will take action against those responsible if these steps are not reversed. We are monitoring the situation closely and stand with the people of Burma, who have already endured so much in their quest for democracy and peace.

 

[user 7368]

To be honest, what is going on in Myanmar leaves me very cold, the army always had a lot to say there and it is a domestic political matter where foreign countries should better not interfere. It doesn't help if Sleeping Jo intends to bring democracy there with soldiers or something else, we shouldn't send our people there, and certainly not that they never get out of there again except in the coffin.

The EU has been provoking the army in Myanmar for a long time, this coup will be a consequence of it, the EU, in particular Mutti Merkel, has been interfering too much in the politics of EU countries and other countries recently, it is mainly due to that one, new and bigger problems.

 

[Jayson]

I hope they’re not using Dominion Voting Machines.

 

[user 7368]

No, the army there does not use voting machines but weapons.

 

[Helen Back]

Everyone in the world knows our election was rigged. So nobody will ever believe in fair elections again. That the left said they would NEVER concede the 2020 election, but then crucified the right for questioning MANY issues, and REFUSED to even look into them, has turned the world upside down.

The PEOPLE are rising up all across the globe. The elites are terrified. Folks this is it...

 

[Jayson]

Maybe we could trade Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to Myanmar for some bamboo furniture.

 

[Dani]

@JackPosobiec
11h
What's happening in Myanmar has a huge impact on China The military was upset that Aung San Suu Kyi was becoming too close to the CCP Xi already built 2 pipelines through Myanmar, and has big plans for a major port and rail line


@KotorMF
Replying to
@B4n4L1ty and @JackPosobiec
This is who the government they just removed was in the pocket of, which is why the State Department is making a fuss about it.

Alexander Soros, PhD
Back to work in #Myanmar’s capital #Naypitaw, which means back it’s back to my #Lungi

 

[Helen Back]

What will Joe do when China starts invading these countries?

 

[Oddcaliber]

I hope they’re not using Dominion Voting Machines.

My thoughts exactly!

 

[Mountain trapper]

Don't really care about Myanmar. I think we have enough to worry about in our own country. Its their problem.

 

[Jayson]

If Myanmar is using those screwy Dominion Voting Machines, my guess is Joe Biden will be elected president of Myanmar.

 

[user 7368]

What will Joe do when China starts invading these countries?

He will tremble and whisper into his mask "Greet the Chinese"....

I think Sleeping Jo would be overwhelmed in the situation and would then soon join his dead constituents.

 

[DrHenley]

Apparently they sent him back to the basement after inauguration and only let him out to do the EO photo ops. It sounded like he said "Don't know what I'm signing there" in one of them. And in another he fumbled around trying to put the pen in his pocket.

https://rumble.com/vdcydz-joe-biden-doesnt-know-what-hes-signing-signs-anyways.html

 

[user 7368]

He is and remains a puppet, Lurch Addams would have done the job just as well and even better.

I think Sleeping Jo is not aware of his actions, he will do more harm than good in two to four years in office, you will probably have 10 to 20 years to repair that damage, some of it you will never be able to undo.

 

[Dani]

Interesting. . . Smartmatics used in their election.

 

[Dani]

https://www.csis.org/blogs/new-pers...ections-will-be-neither-free-nor-fair-rakhineMyanmar Elections Will Be Neither Free Nor Fair in Rakhine

November 4, 2020

By Kyra Jasper

With four days until Myanmar’s general elections, many international observers and opposition parties doubt that the polls will be conducted freely and fairly. These concerns echo those raised during the previous elections in 2015 regarding violence in border states and structural inequities that have only intensified. The United States and much of the international community deemed the 2015 elections successful because of the peaceful transfer of power from the military-backed government to civilian leadership for the first time in more than 50 years. Although observers voiced concerns regarding voter disenfranchisement, especially of Rohingya, the international community hoped that the National League for Democracy (NLD) and its Nobel laureate leader Aung San Suu Kyi would help resolve ethnic tensions and consolidate democracy. Unfortunately, over the past five years, systemic violence against the Rohingya only worsened, border states remain wracked by violence, and Myanmar did not move closer to international democratic standards.


In 2012, the United States began gradually easing sanctions imposed on Myanmar two decades before. In light of the 2015 election, President Barack Obama lifted more sanctions after calling Myanmar a “good news story” because of the successful transition of power from the military to the NLD, which he called a sign of “Burma’s substantial advances to promote democracy...and greater enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms.”


But even as sanctions were being lifted, the Myanmar government was conducting a campaign of persecution against the Rohingya. In 2014, the government precluded them from self-identifying as Rohingya in the nation’s first census in decades. Nine months before the 2015 elections, President Thein Sein revoked 750,000 temporary identification documents (“white cards”) held mainly by Rohingya, even disenfranchising individuals who had been allowed to vote in 2010 and 2012 elections. The Carter Center noted that district-level sub-commissions disqualified a combined 22 candidates from predominantly-Rohingya parties in the run-up to the elections. Nearly all Muslim candidates in Rakhine State were barred from participating, even those from non-Rohingya ethnic groups.


In the run-up to this year’s elections, disenfranchisement of Rohingya has escalated. Agence France-Presse reported in late September that almost all of the 600,000 Rohingya remaining in Myanmar will be barred from participating in the elections. The Myanmar government frequently invokes the 1982 Citizenship Law to block some minorities, especially the Rohingya, from participating in the political process. At least half of the dozen or so Rohingya candidates who applied to run in the upcoming elections have been rejected because officials claimed they could not prove their parents’ citizenship at the time of their birth.


The coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated concerns about election fairness. Weeks after the first cases of local transmission were detected in Rakhine state, the Union Election Commission (UEC) issued restrictions on campaigning on September 8. These restrictions prevent political parties from campaigning in areas with stay-at-home orders, including in Rakhine. Digital campaigning is not viable as the government has shut down the internet in several townships in Rakhine and Chin states for over a year. On October 16, the UEC excluded 56 townships from holding elections at all. Most are in Rakhine, Kachin, Mon, Shan, and Karen states, which the government insists are “unable to conduct free and fair elections.” This means nearly 1.5 million of Myanmar’s 38 million eligible voters will not be able to cast a ballot, including more than 1.2 million of Rakhine state’s 1.6 million eligible voters.


As a result, most eligible voters in Rakhine state—both Buddhist and Muslim—will not be able to participate in the upcoming elections at all. Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya were already disenfranchised ahead of the 2015 elections. And most of those who managed to hang on to their citizenship have were disenfranchised by the military’s campaign of ethnic cleansing from late 2016. About 700,000 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh since while more than 130,000 remain internally displaced.

Prospects for peaceful relations between the Rohingya and the Myanmar government after the elections are bleak. The military is responsible for the campaign to drive the Rohingya out, but Aung San Suu Kyi and the NLD have no political incentive to intervene. A UN fact finding mission to Myanmar in September 2019 recommended sanctions against senior military officials and companies with ties to the army, but very few countries have done so. The United States has imposed some targeted sanctions against Myanmar military officers, though it also continues to fete the civilian government. On October 28, a U.S. government delegation met with Aung San Suu Kyi and several other senior ministers to reaffirm the United States’ commitment to invest in Myanmar’s economic development and democratization. Since 2017, the United States has invested nearly $330 million in six enterprises in Myanmar. This move comes on the heels of a senior U.S. diplomat urging Aung San Suu Kyi to “secure the voluntary, safe, dignified, and sustainable return of Rohingya and other refugees and internally displaced persons” after a “transparent and inclusive election.” But the elections this month are poised to be even less transparent and inclusive election than those in 2015 – and that should give the United States pause.

 

[Jayson]

 

[Dave2001]

What will Joe do when China starts invading these countries?

Probably hide in his basement!!!!

 

[Helen Back]

Joe is afraid China will tell the truth about him. Biden and the left are cowards.


'Chaos' in the White House as Biden administration officials argue over whether to call Myanmar military takeover a 'coup' over fears they will 'anger China and be forced to withdraw foreign aid'


Biden threatens Myanmar with sanctions as administration debates calling military takeover a 'coup' | Daily Mail Online

 

[Oddcaliber]

Looks like Joe put himself in a corner!

 

[Dani]

Disclose.tv
@disclosetv

JUST IN - Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp servers are now restricted in #Myanmar on state-owned internet provider (via
@netblocks)

 

[Digout]

The Myanmar military has shut down the Internet

 

[lonewolf]

its up again but very patchy and very slow.

 

[Dani]

(Reuters) - Tens of thousands of people rallied across Myanmar on Sunday to denounce last week’s coup and demand the release of elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi , in the biggest protests since the 2007 Saffron Revolution that helped spur a transition to democracy.

In a second day of widespread protests against the military junta, crowds in the biggest city, Yangon, sported red shirts, red flags and red balloons, the colour representing Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy Party (NLD). They chanted, “We don’t want military dictatorship! We want democracy!”

Myanmar’s military seized power in the early hours of Monday, bringing the Southeast Asian nation’s troubled democratic transition to a sudden halt and drawing international outrage.

Sunday’s gathering was much bigger than one on Saturday when tens of thousands took to the streets in the first mass protests against the coup and in spite of a blockade on the internet ordered by the junta in the name of ensuring calm.

On Sunday, massive crowds from all corners of Yangon gathered in townships and headed toward the Sule Pagoda at the heart of downtown Yangon, also a rallying point during the Buddhist monk-led 2007 protests and others in 1988.

They gestured with the three-finger salute that has become a symbol of protest against the coup. Drivers honked their horns and passengers held up photos of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Suu Kyi.

“We don’t want to live under military boots,” said 29-year-old protester Ye Yint.

Despite the internet shutdown, a few people were able to broadcast on Facebook Live. Users said internet access appeared to have been restored on Sunday afternoon.

There was no comment from the junta in the capital Naypyitaw, more than 350 km (220 miles) north of Yangon.

Protests sweep Myanmar to oppose coup, support Suu Kyi

 

[Dani]

I used to watch that show back in the day at 10:30 to go to bed.

 

[Dani]

First Thailand, now Myanmar: Asia protesters borrow from 'Hunger Games'
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The anti-government movement in Thailand and the resistance to the Myanmar coup have one clear thing in common. The two of them both used three finger greetings to symbolize their form of resistance. The three finger greetings are not an original Thai or Myanmar creation, but are taken from a novel and film.

The novel and film in question is Suzanne Collins' Hunger Games. Suzanne Collins originally created the three-finger greeting to symbolize three expressions: thank you, proud, and goodbye. Later, as the story progressed, the greeting became a symbol of resistance by the main character, Katniss Everdeen, to authoritarian rule.

Thailand has adopted this spirit since 2014. In Thailand, the three-finger greeting represents the three demands. The three are reforming the parliament, reforming the constitution, and ending intimidation of the people. In Myanmar, the meaning is not much different.

Health worker shows a Three Finger greeting for a photo in Yangon, Myanmar, February 3, 2021. This greeting is a symbol of support for Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar's top civilian leader who was overthrown and opposed the leaders of a military coup. HNIN YI WIN / HO REUTERS

The three-finger greeting first appeared in Myanmar when the Civil Uprising Movement was formed on Wednesday, February 3, 2021. Doctors and medical staff, who were on strike and unwilling to serve the military government, waved the Hunger Games three-finger greeting while wearing masks and blue surgical gowns. .

The three-finger greeting was used by them to symbolize rejection of military rule and demands for the release of State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint. As reported, the two, along with several government party officials, have been detained by General Min Aung Hlaing since last Monday.

Quoted from Reuters, Myanmar's inspiration to use the same symbol as Thailand is more or less because of the closeness of the two. Both share the same borders. Myanmar migrant workers, on the other hand, also mostly work in Thailand. As a result, it is not surprising that the three finger greeting spreads rapidly, especially since it has been used since 2014.

The uprising by Myanmar citizens has not borne fruit so far. As of this writing, the Myanmar government responded by turning off access to social media, especially Facebook. Facebook, in Myanmar, is often seen as a synonym of the internet.

The Myanmar government, which has been taken over by the military, said Facebook was being used to spread fake news and misinformation. This, they said, had the potential to disrupt the stability and security of Myanmar. For some Burmese citizens, the blocking actually strengthened the image of the Myanmar coup.

 

[Jayson]

I used to watch that show back in the day at 10:30 to go to bed.

Some of the shows on television now put me to sleep real fast.

 

[Dani]

Myanmar Bans Twitter, Facebook For Promoting Protests Against Military Coup Provoked By Voter Fraud

Myanmar takes strong response after social media platforms interfere in their internal affairs.

The southeast Asian nation of Myanmar – also known as Burma – has banned popular social media platforms Facebook, Instagram and Twitter after the algorithms of the platforms promoted posts that encouraged protests against the country’s military.

Myanmar’s nationalist military arrested the liberal political leaders of the country on Monday after the politicians were accused of vote fraud in the November election. The military subsequently formed a transitional government, called the State Administrative Council, consisting of members from the military itself and from multiple political parties, which they say will be in power for one year until free and fair elections can be held.

Unfortunately, the vast NGO network connected to George Soros’ Open Society Foundations then leapt into action, fomenting mass protests across the country in favor of the deposed former State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi, a close associate of Hillary Clinton.

This attempt at a color revolution in Myanmar was enabled by social media platforms including Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, whose algorithms eagerly promoted content that advocated unrest there. Twitter pushed the hashtag “#RespectOurVotes” in Myanmar, which appeared reminiscent of statements made by Joe Biden in the United States to disregard the Trump campaign’s legitimate challenges to the official 2020 U.S. election result.

The new government of Myanmar reacted strongly towards the big tech subversion, banning Instagram, Facebook and Twitter for their intervention in the country’s domestic politics.

Twitter then bizarrely claimed the ban was a threat to the “Open Internet”, despite Twitter’s own mass censorship of President Donald Trump and his supporters from their platform.

“We’re deeply concerned about the order to block Internet services in Myanmar. It undermines the public conversation and the rights of people to make their voices heard,” a Twitter spokesman said. “The Open Internet is increasingly under threat around the world. We will continue to advocate to end destructive government-led shutdowns.”

Facebook was somewhat more upfront about their aims, admitting their goal was to get what they considered to be “important information” – in other words, information produced by Soros groups – to the people of Myanmar.

“We strongly urge the authorities to order the unblocking of all social media services,” Facebook’s APAC Director of Public Policy said. “At this critical time, the people of Myanmar need access to important information.”

In 2018, Facebook banned General Min Aung Hlaing, the commander-in-chief of the Myanmar armed forces, claiming that they wanted “to prevent [him] from using our service to further inflame ethnic and religious tensions”. Hlaing currently serves as the chairman of Myanmar’s new transitional government.

Social media platforms are facing increased pressure around the world for their brazen interference in elections and other political processes to undermine conservative or nationalist governments. Strong responses of the kind implemented in Myanmar will likely only become more widespread as a result.

Myanmar Bans Twitter, Facebook For Promoting Soros Protests Against Military Takeover Provoked By Voter Fraud

 

[Schattentarn]

I will have to admit that with the possible exception of the UK, it is almost impossible for me to follow politics in another country successfully.